Everything is set to begin with another FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship this 2022. This year, there are lots of national teams that could be seen as favorites to win the title, but theres one big absent. Why is Russia not competing in this edition?
The 20th edition of the 2022 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship will begin this August 26 and will end in September 11, 2022. A total of 24 teams from five confederations will compete to win and be named the very best for at least one year.
Europe has dominated in the last years, with Poland as its best team recently. This year's co-host won in 2020 and 2021, defeating Brazil in both finals. Another squad from that confederation was also seen as one of the strongest, but they were removed and could not compete this year. Yes, we're talking about Russia.
Why is Russia not competing in the 2022 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship?
Russia has increased its level in many sports throughout history and this topic is vital for their people to have some extra exposure to the world. But now, they won't have the opportunity to show what they are capable of in Men's volleyball.
Unfortunately for the athletes, their goverment's decisions have damaged their careers collaterally. Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this 2022 with its military forces, so the FIVB had to take some actions about it.
Russia was set to host this year the FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship, but the organization stripped them away from this and gave it to Poland and Slovenia. They also decided to deny their participation even though they were going to play outside their territory.
It is not the first time that something like this happens in sports. Russia was also banned by FIFA (soccer's biggest organization) and the national team, despite being in the UEFA's Playoffs, was instantly eliminated after the military invasion and could no longer have the opportunity to play in Qatar 2022.
